WSET appoints two new trustees

Andrew Hawes, the managing director of Mentzendorff, and global drinks consultant Jonathan Driver have been appointed as WSET trustees.

The new trustees will take the place of Bill Page and Christopher Hayman following their retirement.

The board of eight trustees are nominated by the four "founding fathers" of WSET, with the Worshipful Company of Vintners and the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) having three representatives each on the board, with one representative each from the Worshipful Company of Distillers and the Institute of Masters of Wine.

Hawes began his career in the UK wine trade as a management trainee at Matthew Clark, and took over the reins as managing director of Mentzendorff in 2004. He is also a director of the WSTA. Every year he has raised funds for the Benevolent by cycling across Europe with fellow members of the trade.

The second new trustee, representing the Worshipful Company of Distillers, is Jonathan Driver, who has worked in the drinks industry for over 20 years, starting with United Distillers in 1989 and then onto Diageo in 1997 until 2006. After leaving Diageo in 2006, he became a global consultant for the drinks industry working across a wide spectrum of projects for major drinks companies.

Laura Jewell MW, chairman of the board of trustees, said: "As WSET continues its growth into new markets, the expertise of both Andrew and Jonathan - who are both very active in the wine and spirits markets globally - will play a big part in helping to formulate the trust's future strategic direction."

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust is the largest global provider of qualifications in the field of wines and spirits.